DORMS & DORITOS

Brandweek, June 26, 2000 by Becky Ebenkamp

Just last week, you learned on these very pages about the highly scientific junk food horoscope, which identified pretzel eaters as energetic and tortilla chip lovers as perfectionists. Frito-Lay has another theory about which consumers grab a handful of this salty snack vs. that, one based on age, status and sex. Here's how the chip behemoth breaks down demographics for its snack brands for marketing purposes, according to a licensing 2000 brochure.

* Doritos: "Teens and college students"

* Chee-tos: "Kids and more kids"

* Fritos: "Blue collar adults with kids--the Backbone of America"

* Lay's: "This is the all-family chip"

* Tostitos: "Young professionals 25-49"

* Ruffles: "Young adults, especially males 18-34"

* Cracker Jack: "Kids of all ages"